


The Decomposition of the World

by bjdunkelfuck



Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF
Genre: Established Relationship, M/M, theres some violence and a tad bit of gore type stuff, theyre husbands aww yeah, zombie apocalypse AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-09
Updated: 2014-07-09
Packaged: 2018-02-08 02:57:41
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,799
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1924149
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bjdunkelfuck/pseuds/bjdunkelfuck
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The world has gone to shit over the last several months. The Achievement Hunters seem to be the only not-undead ones left in the general area and have had to shelter up in a goddamn hardware store. Michael and Gavin go out on a raid and it doesn't go so great.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Decomposition of the World

**Author's Note:**

> dont ask about the title i literally have no idea why i decided on that  
> this is based off this post (http://that-one-kelsey.tumblr.com/post/90530154435/on-the-topic-of-zombie-au)

Michael woke up to the sound of groans and bodies slamming into the walls outside. It had become a normal reoccurrence over the last several months. A horrible, disgusting infestation had begun in Austin and spread through the whole country, maybe the whole world but Michael didn’t know, didn’t _want_ to know. It had turned everyone Michael knew into a decaying, flesh eating creature, taking his friends and family and ruining them. Everyone except the five others he lived with in this hardware store.

Geoff, Jack, Ryan, Ray, and Gavin.

No one else he even vaguely knew survived the disease, at least that he knew of, and he had to shoot and stab and bludgeon so many of them to death that he always tried to keep it in the furthest part of his mind, where he would never have to relive those gruesome memories. It didn’t work as well as he liked but the other guys distracted him well enough.

They were all each other’s anchors. Each one of them helped keep the memories at bay, because if not, they would all fall apart. Michael tried not to think too much about that either.

Michael sat up with a sigh and rubbed his eyes before glancing around the perimeter, a habit he had acquired after waking up to seven zombies coming right for Gavin a few months ago. That boy just knew how to get himself in trouble.

Currently, said boy was latched onto Michael, arms lazily wrapped around his waist and one leg between his. He had to smile at that. He didn’t do a whole lot of it anymore, but Gavin always managed to get him to every now and then.

There didn’t seem to be any real threat, just a few stupid zombies slamming themselves into the metal walls of their shelter. He carefully detached himself from Gavin and stood up from the pile of blankets on the linoleum floor of an aisle.

Because Ryan decided the safest shelter was the hardware store, there wasn’t any beds or bedding material but every once in a while, they raided a nearby Walmart and got some pillows and blankets during one of them. They set up makeshift beds (blankets and pillows on the floor) in designated areas to protect during the night in case of an invasion of any kind. Gavin usually strayed from his post to sleep with Michael and for awhile Geoff or Michael would scold him for leaving, but eventually it became normal. The warmth of Gavin every night ended soothing Michael and he could get through the night without waking up in a cold sweat or screaming in fear.

Gavin didn’t help too much tonight apparently, because a quick look at the window told him that it was still very early in the morning, probably around two. Another sigh escaped his lips as he grabbed one of the blades and a lantern he had placed on a shelf and walked around to make sure there weren’t any trespassers. He passed by all of the other guys on his walk, but there didn’t seem to be anything else, even in the garden with Jack.

He was being paranoid again. He was a light sleeper nowadays and the decaying idiots outside just woke him up with their incessant groaning. He made his way back to his “bed” to try to fall back asleep (he wouldn’t), Gavin would probably wake up soon without Michael’s warmth and panic if he wasn’t there.

When he walked by Ray’s post, he heard muffled whimpering and he walked down the aisle to calm him down from what was probably a nightmare. His blankets were twisted up at his feet and he was tossing around, mumbling the names of people all of them had come to care about but had to murder to keep their own lives. Michael leant down and placed the lantern and blade on the floor beside him, shaking Ray’s shoulder. At the contact, Ray screeched and cried out, “No! Please, stop! Please!”

Michael changed the action to rubbing his shoulder at a calming pace to attempt to relax the man, murmuring, “Hey, it’s alright. It’s just a nightmare, buddy.”

That seemed to snap Ray out of the nightmare and he sat straight up, gripping the front of Michael’s shirt and a sob ripped through him. Michael put a gentle hand on his back and rubbed in what he hoped was a comforting gesture until his sleeve was wet with tears and Ray’s grip loosened.

At that point, everyone else had gathered at the edge of the aisle, their bodies illuminated by the soft light of Jack and Geoff’s lanterns, and when Michael looked up at their worried expressions, Gavin said in a quiet voice, “Is-Is he alright?”

Michael smiled softly at him to let him know it was really okay, “Yeah, Gav. He’ll be okay.”

Ray let out a croaky, “I’m sorry,” but Michael just shook his head, “It’s alright, bud. It happens to all of us. You’re gonna be okay now?”

Ray nodded shakily and sat back to let Michael up, pulling his blankets back over him. Michael picked up the blade and lantern and walked over to the rest of them, “He just had a nightmare. He’ll- I hope he can push the memories away. He should be alright.”

They all nodded solemnly and Geoff told them to go back to their posts before walking off to his own. Michael grabbed Gavin’s arm and led him back to their bed/post, flopping onto the pile of blankets after putting back the lantern and blade. Gavin sat next to him and laid his head against Michael’s shoulder, murmuring, “What were you doing up so early, Michael? You have a nightmare too?”

Michael shook his head as he interlaced their fingers, “Nah, some stupid zombies were pounding on the wall and groaning and being general goddamn loud idiots. It woke me up, but I guess they’re gone now. Nobody’s had such a bad nightmare in awhile…”

Gavin nodded and frowned, “I hope Ray will really be alright. He’s usually so calm and collected about stuff.”

“Yeah, I do too, Gav. Go ahead and go back to sleep, okay? I need you ready for the raid today.”

The younger man nodded again, slipping off his shoulder to lie down under the blankets but keeping a hold of Michael’s hand. Michael followed his lead and laid beside him, facing away from him to let Gavin wrap his arms around Michael, face nuzzled into his neck. His breathing evened out quickly and sleep came over him, but Michael stayed awake. He stared at the shelf in front of him and sleep never arrived for him.

When light began to filter through the high windows, Michael officially woke for the day and pulled Gavin up so they could eat breakfast and prepare for the two-man raid him and Gavin were going out on. All six of them gathered in the garden like they always did for meals and Jack and Ryan served them a simple breakfast of eggs and some fruit.

They all quietly chatted amongst each other but Ray stayed silent until Ryan put a hand on his arm and smiled at him, “Are you feeling alright from the nightmare? I know how those get.”

Ray nodded silently and took another bite of his egg. Nobody pushed it any further.

Geoff went over the precautions Gavin and Michael needed to take while they were out and told them to be back as quickly as they could. Both men knew this already but didn’t stop him from going over everything, it made Geoff feel more control of the whole zombie situation and they weren’t going to stop him from his way of coping.

A few hours later, Michael and Gavin had mostly empty backpacks on to fill with supplies they found and each carried a blade, a gun with a silencer strapped to Michael’s leg as well because Gavin still couldn’t shoot for shit. Ryan broke down the barrier to let them out of their shelter and the three others stood by the door, weapons at the ready, to see them off.

There were no silhouettes in the surrounding area yet so everyone else put their weapons down and Ryan reinforced the barrier, leaving Michael and Gavin alone in the infested land. They both began to walk forward and out of the fencing surrounding to the truly open grounds. Gavin pulled out the map and looked over the several areas crossed out with big red ‘X’s until he found the section with an empty space, a few blocks away to the east. He kept the map in his hands as he faced left and started walking, Michael trailing after him.

It was eerily quiet as they began walking past a neighborhood they looted out a month or two ago. An uneasy feeling settled in Michael’s stomach as the pounding of their footsteps echoed as the only noise on the street. They made some more turns and eventually arrived at the houses that hadn’t been touched yet. They had fought off a few stray zombies, but it had seemed like they were none around which only worried Michael more.

Michael fought back the feeling though and continued into the first house, Gavin walking upstairs while he looked through the downstairs area. Michael had threw some cans in the bag and a few other supplies he saw before the unmistakable sound of several rotting bodies groaning and shuffling towards them. He quickly zipped up his back pack and ran upstairs, calling out for Gavin in as low of a voice as he could. Gavin had whispered back that he was in the bathroom and Michael ran into that room, pulling Gavin off the floor where he was stuffing things in his own bag, “Come on, there’s a fucking horde coming, we gotta get out of here.”

Gavin stumbled up and grabbed his unzipped backpack, slinging over his shoulder as he followed Michael down the stairs and to the front door. The shorter man peeked out the door and saw the horde a few feet away. He couldn’t tell if they could see them, but they needed to go _now_ before any of them got any closer.

Michael slammed the door open and sprinted out the door, hand gripping Gavin’s to keep the stumbling idiot close to him and he ran in the direction opposite the horde. He could hear the combined slapping of the decaying bodies’ feet as they started towards them. At some point, Michael let go of Gavin’s hand but he could hear him behind him so he kept going, his legs begging for mercy as he continued.

There was a clattering as something smacked into the asphalt and after a moment, Michael turned back and Gavin was turning around, reaching down to grab whatever had fallen. One of the decomposing figures was ahead of the rest and was quickly approaching Gavin and _goddammit, Michael was going to have to save him again_. He spun around and charged forward, slicing the head off the first one.

Gavin picked up the medication bottle of _whatever_ and dropped it into his backpack, slipping one of the straps off his shoulder to zip it up. Michael sliced the heads off a few more as they quickly approached in larger numbers than the last. When he looked back again, Gavin was staring at him wide-eyed and had his own blade in his hand, but Michael shook his head, “Go, Gav. I’ll be there in a second.”

Gavin just stood there and Michael didn’t have time to argue with him so he spun back around and sliced each of the five heads off the zombies in front of him. As the last one stumbled forward, he sliced through its head from ear to ear and it slumped to the ground. Before Michael could even notice or react, there was another and it unhinged its decayed jaw and sunk its teeth into the cloth of Michael’s shirt and the flesh of his abdomen. He groaned in pain, but muffled it into his arm. He slammed the sword down on the stupid thing’s head and the skull made an audible crack as it fell away from him.

Shit. Fucking shit, shit, shit. He just got _bit_. That thing just fucking surprise attacked him and sunk his nasty teeth into him. Fuck.

He looked up and Gavin was in front of him, slamming his own sword into several bodies. Michael quickly zipped up his jacket to cover the bite and grabbed his hand, spinning around and running off. The crash of the zombies continuing after them sent a horrible chill through Michael and he broke off into a sprint back to their shelter. He could hear Gavin stumbling behind him, but eventually kept up with his longer strides.The poor guy could take care of himself but he just knew how to get in the worst situations. He couldn’t bear to see his face when he saw the chunk missing from Michael’s abdomen, he couldn’t stand to watch him crumble at the realization Michael was gone. There was nothing they could do for Michael but kill him before he turned as unpleasant as it was. He didn’t want to watch Gavin have to kill him either. He didn’t want to give him that responsibility. He wouldn’t.

After what seemed like an eternity, they reached the shelter and Michael had started to limp a bit and the pain of the bite was fucking destroying him. The four others ran out at their arrival and apparently Ryan and Geoff stopped caring about attracting more of the undead for the moment and brought out the shotguns to shoot down any of the mob that was still on their tails while Jack and Ray cut them down. Michael stumbled inside and got to their makeshift bed to relax his overexerted muscles and look at the bite before anyone else got inside.

He unzipped his jacket with shaky hands and gingerly touched the swollen, bruised skin where the teeth made their imprint. Blood was caked onto the wound and the ripped area of his shirt. He winced at the sight and closed his jacket again, trying to calm his breathing. Michael felt sweat begin to roll off his face and he ran a hand through his damp curls. The bite was already taking effect and god, it wouldn’t be long before he turned.

He couldn’t stay here any longer. He was putting all of them in danger, he was putting _Gavin_ in danger and he couldn’t do that. He stumbled up to make sure no one had come inside and when he saw nothing, he slumped back down against a shelf. He reached behind him into the shelf and found the pistol he’d hidden there, pulling his arm out and pressing it to his temple. A sob escaped him as he thought about how Gavin would react when he heard the shot and came running to see his lifeless body. It hurt him to his very core that he had to cause Gavin this distress, but he couldn’t inflict the agony and heartbreak on him that would come with killing his husband.

He felt his hand violently shake against his head and he tried his best to steady it before pulling the trigger.

\---

The echoing sound of a gunshot from inside the store made Gavin’s eyes widen and he sliced the head off one other zombie before rushing inside. He searched through the building until reached his and Michael’s shared bed and the pool of blood that led to Michael’s head made him let out a choked gasp as he slid to kneel by his body.

“No, no, no. Michael, please. I- why? Why would you-?” Tears flowed down his face and a violent sob wracked his body as he gripped Michael’s jacket. When he leaned his body against his, there was an awful _squish_ and Gavin sat back and unzipped the jacket. There was another screaming sob that left Gavin’s lips as he saw the infected wound in his husband’s abdomen that was so unmistakably a bite and he shook his head harshly.

“Oh-oh my god. Michael, no. God, this is my fault. Fuck, this is so my fault. I’m so sorry, love. I-fuck- I’m sorry.” He kept a grip on Michael’s jacket and just sobbed, his tears soaking through the fabric of his clothes. He stayed there until Geoff attempted to pull him away, murmuring comforting words but Gavin just screeched and kept his hands on Michael. Eventually Gavin’s heartbreak left him exhausted and he slumped against Geoff’s arms, numbness overcoming him.


End file.
